TikTok sues Biden admin over bill forcing sale of app

The suit alleges that the First Amendment rights of TikTok's users have been violated by the law. The company has said that over 170 million Americans use the app.

The bill was brought by Congress and signed by Biden on April 24. ByteDance has until January 19 to offload the app of face penalties. The bill was brought over concerns that the Chinese Communist Party that runs China could have access to user data via a back door in the app.

The lawsuit claims that "There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere," The Daily Mail states.

The suit also alleged that TikTok had already spent some $2 billion in security measure to protect US users' data and had already made some security commitments that were coordinated with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

The lawsuit further states that the CCP "has made clear that it would not permit a divestment of the recommendation engine that is a key to the success of TikTok in the United States." In other words, the CCP would not permit the sale of the algorithm that makes TikTok so popular.